profile

in 1993 april wagner  began creating work as epiphany. her artistic method of creating speaks to her aesthetic. She designs, develops, and creates each piece signed under the epiphany name. all aspects of the epiphany works are created solely and entirely by april.the process used by epiphany is traditionally termed “fazzoletto”, which means the glass is blown in free form. this is an ancient technique developed and mastered by Italian glass blowers over many hundreds of years. the epiphany pieces are created referencing the Italians, but adding a contemporary twist that consists of complex color theory plus a unique way of sculpting solid glass bits onto the exterior of the pieces. no molds are used during the creation of any piece. the artist and the medium work together to create exquisite and natural forms that reflect the true nature of glass as a molten material. thus these forms are reminiscent of the familiar, yet not contrived.

in 1997 epiphany began the process of building the state of the art glass studio in pontiac, michigan. in early 2000, this 3,000 square foot studio became fully operational. the goal was to create a “universal” studio that would permit professional glass artists to work at the epiphany studio and feel as though they are in a familiar environment. to make this “universal” studio possible, epiphany hired the same company that built studios for dale chihuly, lino tagliapietra, steuben, and the corning museum.

most recently, glass artist stephen powell demonstrated at the studio, successfully creating pieces over 6′ in height and 3′ in width. renowned italian glass artist lucio bubacco works at the studio during his visits to the united states. he stated that “i enjoy creating here for the energy and treatment is something i have never experienced. it also amazes me that april can create the quality works that she does by herself with only one assistant. in italy there are six to eight people working on the sizes of pieces they create themselves. She is amazing.”

the truly outstanding and unique feature of the epiphany studio is its very large, and sophisticated glory hole. a glory hole is crucial in the reheating and sculpting of each glasswork. the epiphany glory hole is 52″ x 41″. the jumbo size of the glory hole enables the artists to create the large-scale pieces their customers are demanding. other attributes of this studio are the revolutionary round 800-pound tank furnace, that creates a higher quality of glass, a metal fabrication shop, a cold working facility with etching capabilities, and a digital photo studio. there is also a 1,000-square foot gallery/apartment with kitchen, laundry and bath facilities attached to the studio.

one of the driving forces in building this studio was to give the artists the ability to evolve and create large-scale, one of a kind works. the new epiphany studio enables the artists to be limitless in their creativity, giving galleries and collectors the finest quality pieces available on the market.